Grand Teton National Park Refines Bear-Watching Guidelines

The attraction of grizzly bears close enough to reach out and touch has created problems in Grand Teton National Park, where visitors are parking along roads and sitting on their car and truck hoods and roofs to get a shot of the bears. NPS photo.

With grizzly bears and people coming closer and closer to one another in the front country of Grand Teton National Park, officials have refined their guidelines as to how close people can be to wildlife.

The need for the revisions arose as more and more visitors took to the roofs of their vehicles to photograph bears and, in at least two instances, the bears took exception and charged the vehicles, according to park officials.

While park guidelines long have said visitors should not approach within 100 yards of bears and wolves, or within 25 yards from other animals, including nesting birds, the updated regulation now specifies that "remaining, viewing, or engaging in any activity within 100 yards of bears or wolves" is against park regulations.

With highly photogenic grizzly sows No. 399 and No. 610 -- and, this year, their five cubs -- regularly frequenting the park's front country, more and more photographers realized that they could get some great shots of them if they just waited long enough, Grand Teton spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said Thursday.

"They sit and park for 12 hours a day where they think they’re going to get shots of these bears," she said. "Other people who drive by think, 'Oh, that’s a great thing to do.'”

The result is not just road shoulders lined with cars and trucks, but with people sitting atop those cars and trucks hoping for a great photograph to return home with, said Ms. Skaggs. When the bears arrive to this mass of humanity, problems can quickly arise, she said.

With recent instances of cubs running between parked vehicles, "it's only going to be a matter of time we fear before one of those cubs gets hit," the spokeswoman said, or "the mother is going to turn on somebody because of the congested condition and she's going to be startled or agitated by how close somebody is."

The change has not been well-received by all. In Jackson, Wyoming, wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen told the Jackson Hole News and Guide that park officials were being unreasonable.

“I seriously doubt if previous superintendents would have gone so far as to say people in their vehicles can’t stop within 100 yards of bears or wolves,” Mr. Tom Mangelsen said. “I think this is laughable and incredibly retaliatory.”

Grizzly cubs have had to dodge lines of cars in Grand Teton this summer. NPS photo.

Back at the park, Ms. Skaggs said there was nothing "retaliatory" about the revision, but that it was necessary due to the changing patterns in wildlife movements. When the previous regulation, which prohibited approaching within 100 yards of bears and wolves, was written, it was aimed at the backcountry traveler, she said.

"Conditions have changed greatly," Ms. Skaggs said. "Having that wording in the compendium seems logical when you think that whichever superintendent ever wrote that provision, on foot or on stock, was how people would have encountered grizzly bears. But things have changed."

Park officials say the "tremendous interest" in viewing the sows and their cubs, as well as other wildlife in the park, has created "large wildlife jams and caused situations where the well being of both visitors and animals may be in jeopardy. Wildlife viewing opportunities — and wildlife jams in particular — can be very fluid situations due to the unpredictable behavior and movement of animals, the ebb and flow of traffic, and other factors."

In a press release she wrote, Ms. Skaggs said that "after a bear charged two different vehicles on two separate occasions while people stood on their car roof, park managers recognized the need to more strictly enforce the established regulations for wildlife viewing to better secure the protection of animals and ensure visitor safety."

On Thursday the park spokeswoman said officials do want visitors to enjoy seeing wildlife, because by seeing animals in their natural environments they gain a better appreciation of wildlife and a better understanding of the value of national parks and the role they play in preserving wildlife.

“We definitely don’t want to take that opportunity away," she said, "we just want to manage it so we protect the bears.”

The revision to the regulations could perhaps play a key role in protecting visitors who drive the Moose-Wilson Road in late summer and early fall to see wildlife. Black bears long have been drawn to the area because of the berry harvest.

"Our greatest fear is when a girzzly bear ends up in that mix," Ms. Skaggs said. "When a grizzly bear figures out that's a good location, then it kind of adds an extra layer of concern and sensitity to it. We may end up having to have rangers out there and have people drive slowly by there and not stop."

In the end, she said, "We're offering people this lifetime opportunity to see wildlife in its natural world, and yet keep people safe. It's been a challenge. It's been something that we're not taking lightly."

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on July 29, 2011 - 9:12am.

Interesting that folks complain about being restricted from an up close and personal encounter with a grizzly, but when an up close person was killed recently in Yellowstone, folks were whining that they were not warned. DIYD-DIYD

The problem with this policy is that it is ultimately going to be selectively enforced by sheer virtue of the fact that the park cannot send personnel to every location where a bear/wolf is within 100 yds. of a highway or some other species is within 25 yds. Thus, the "new rules" will apply only when a ranger shows up (and probalby only when/if said ranger feels there's truly a reason to enforce), inevitably leading to needless park vs. public conflict and confrontation on the rare times where the rules are enforced on the public.
And let's be honest, most of the people complaining the loudest are local photographers who did little more than "squat" for hours on end at the roadside in pursuit of some trophy photos to sell.
Yellowstone frequently designates temporary "No Stopping/No Parking" zones when major wildlife (usually wolves) are known to be denning/feeding in areas in close proximity to the road. These are done for both public and animal safety. This is exactly what should have been done here...erect signs indicating a temporary no parking/no stopping zone in the areas the bears frequent and then enforce that. Instead, the park has a PR and public image problem now and needlessly appears to be heavy-handed toward its visitors.
Bad strategy by the GTNP superintendent.

I was in the park early July and the rangers did a great job with the old rules (Much nicer than the rangers in Yellowstone). There were no problems. I would think bears have a great chance of being hit if you are NOT allowed to park and have to keep the car moving within 100 yards. Will be real hard to enforce and eventually less and less will visit the parks. Everyone needs to relax be smart, and enjoy.

I agree with selective enforcement using the no-parking/no-stopping. It sounds like it's the few professional/semi-professional photographers causing the biggest problem. It was a professional (at least by looking at his gear) that I saw in Yellowstone standing not 15 yards from a black bear that was wandering near the road there.

It's certainly a different situation roadside vs on the trail. Then there are campgrounds. If there's a bear raiding a campground, I would hope that people staying to defend their food and hopefully dissuade bears from returning.

The problem seems to be due to people in their vehicles. I'm not sure why these guidelines weren't limited to roadside areas only. I've certainly of people who were safely watching wildlife (including bears) who simply didn't move as the wildlife got closer than the prescribed distance. Many reports were that park rangers said it was no problem as long as they weren't specifically trying to disturb or bait the wildlife.

I've been in the backcountry where I set up camp but a deer approached a bush to munch on some leaves. I wasn't about to leave, since I'd already staked out my territory.

y_p_w, re food in campgrounds, hopefully folks will store their food properly, and clean up after themselves, so bears won't be attracted to the campgrounds in the first place. And I wonder whether rangers would want campers to stand up to grizzlies to defend their food.

To Anon 7/29/11 - 4:49 pm. - This rule is not different than any other rule - none are enforced if LE officers are not present. No matter where you are, NPS jusrisdiction, a municipality, State highways, etc. LE officers can never be in all places at all times to observe all violations. All LE enforcement officers have a wide range of discretion in how they enforce all regulations - is that really as bad as you seem to believe it is? Place more signs? They will also only get the "seletive enforcement" you seem to have an issue with and have the potential to become what I call "sign litter" and a blight on the landscape. It also seems that no matter how well you sign an area, a lot of people still don't seem to be aware of the signs.
Something needed to be done, in response to changing conditions, for the safety of the public and the wildlife, and to provide park staff the tools they need to address the issue. Regulation changes are only part of the answer and need to be accompanied by an educational element, which I am sure is also on going. This seems, to me, to be a very resonable action.

Grand Teton definitely has different standards regarding food storage than I'm used to. Keep them inside your car is OK. They also prohibit storing utensils, dish pans, water bottles, and stoves/grills outside. We did that in Yosemite with no problem. The bears come by, sniff them, and go away when they realize there's no food. That they might have faint food odors isn't a big deal. They're already attracted to the food stored inside of bear boxes.

To: Y P W " You just have to hope the people don't allow the bears to score any actual food" ASs far as I'm concerned if someone
leaves food out, the bears can help themselves! It's not up to me to teach the bears what is exceptable bear behavior & whats not. I'll keep my spot clean & hope others do the same.

OK. Perhaps I won't be hazing any grizzlies (black bears are another matter), but the NPS definitely does that with rubber bullets, noisemakers, beanbags, clear paintballs, etc.

I've certainly been in black bear country, and I'll admit that my attempts to clear a bear from a neighbor's campsite were less than satisfactory. The park rangers are generally more effective at it.

I'm just waiting for the first person packing heat in an NPS unit to try and shoot a bear in a crowded campground. I heard of one guy in a Forest Service campground who did just that last year. What his family did was cover their site's picnic table with a bug tent, and they their food on the picnic table at night.

I totally support this new regulation. It is long over due in my opinion. I can’t COUNT the number of times I’ve seen people willfully approaching wildlife in our national parks. The offenders have been all sorts of people: professional photographers, photographer wanna-bees, overly excited visitors with point & shoots & cell phones, and even people with no image capturing gadgets at all. People need to understand that this regulation was not put in place to punish visitors or target specific park users, but to protect the very things everyone comes to the parks to see.

My family and I have always governed ourselves when viewing wildlife in the national parks. We only use designated pull-offs to view or photograph wildlife, and NEVER pull off on the sides of the roads. We use our binoculars and long distance lenses to enjoy animals at a safe and respectable distance. If the animals move closer into our viewing area, we simply leave. The only instance we stop in the roadway is to allow animals to cross safely. Once they have moved off, we immediately continue onward. “Be part of the solution, not part of the problem”, I have always instructed my family….

Unfortunately, park staff cannot be everywhere at every instance to enforce this (or the previous) regulation. The parks receive a massive flow of visitors every day. Repeat visitors, new visitors, people from all parts of the country, and from all over the world. It has always been a challenge, if not impossible, to inform ALL these visitors on how they should conduct themselves within the parks. Likewise, many visitors who are aware of park regulations, just simply choose not to comply if a ranger isn’t present.

Hopefully, with the refinement of the old regulations, there will also be revamped methods of educating the public, and following through with enforcements. For those of us who are long time park visitors, my advice stands, “Be part of the solution, not part of the problem”.

Hi from GA. . .We witnessed this 'bear jam' thing when we visied GTNP & YENP earlier this summer, and I do not envy the park rangers their job. Anybody with an expensive camera and a long lens is a 'photographer' these days. We found them to be annoying and generally rude. Whatever the ranger on site does to keep these idiots safe is probably more than they deserve.